Journalism for Change

Engaging communities through journalism, film and street art

Journalism for Change supports freedom of expression for journalists, artists and authors. We promote citizen and professional journalism that engages, informs and inspires communities. We support filmmakers, artists, and civic activists who engage their communities to seek positive change.

Journalism for Change is registered in the United States as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Launched in 2014 as the non-profit partner of the UK-based Off-Centre Productions, we focus our resources on creative talent, minimize institutional costs, and ensure sound administration of project funding.

Our Projects

IranWire is a leading news and information platform for Iran, reaching an audience of over 3 million people every month across our web and social media platforms, in Persian and in English. IranWire uses a network of professional and citizen journalists to report from every province in Iran – covering not just the news but also human and civil rights, good governance, corruption, and social change. News, features articles and blog posts are all produced in an engaging and accessible style, and IranWire uses editorial cartoons, animations and motion graphics to reach a diverse audience.

Journalism Is Not A Crime provides the most comprehensive listing of imprisoned journalists in Iran, providing legal and psychological resources for journalists and their families, and advocates for the right to the freedom of expression. We have documented over 200 journalists and their stories, reported on the effects of torture, and supported campaigns to free journalists from wrongful imprisonment. We have also partnered with a leading research psychiatrist, Dr Anthony Feinstein of the University of Toronto, to study Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder among Iranian journalists.

The Education Is Not A Crime campaign uses the arts – especially street art, with almost 40 murals painted on all five continents – to raise awareness of education inequality around the world. The campaign currently focuses on the Baha'is of Iran – the country's largest religious minority – who are persecuted for beliefs like the equality of men and women and universal education. Iran's government also bars the Baha'is from teaching or studying at Iranian universities. Iranian Baha'is created an informal or "underground" university, the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education, which gives young Baha'is a chance to study. Maziar Bahari, the founder and President of Journalism for Change, told this story in his 2014 documentary To Light a Candle, which was screened in almost 300 locations around the world to launch Education Is Not A Crime. The campaign's next film, Changing the World, One Wall at a Time, which presents the global street art project, will be released in Spring 2017 in cities around the world.